Ken Aug 08 Soggy Trip Report

PART 1
We left Atlanta around 6am Sunday morning on the 17th. We stopped by Waffle House for our Trip Fuel and off we were to the Wettest Place on Earth

I'll apologize now for the lack of pictures as with TS Fay I didn't get many, and then when I got home I learned that my router was dead.

SUN - 17th
We pulled into Saratoga Springs about 1pm. Check in was longer than I have ever seen, but then we usually come in Feb. So I don't know it if it was the time of year or if a Magical Express just unloaded. We got to our room around 2pm and we headed over to Typhoon Lagoon.

Rode Crushin' Gusher, the Storm Slides, Keelhall Falls, and Castaway Creek (where I think I took a short nap). Then we headed over to the Wave Pool. I left that after I kept getting elbowed by others, once in the neck.

We were back at the Resort around 4:30pm to shower and rest up for our ADR at Artist Point. I was really looking forward to the dinner, as it is billed as one of the premire dinners. I am happy to report that dinner was great. I had the Portabello Mushroom Soup and it was to die for, I even asked for the recipee. I had the Buffalo steak as my entree, and enjoyed it with a nice glass of wine. Since the meal was so rich and bad for my tummy, I opted for the Sugar Free berry and Muscat Wine sauce desert.

MON 18th
Today was our Hollywood Studios day. The lines here were more than I am used to, again we usually come in Feb. We headed to Toy Story Mania first thing. We got there at 9:30 and the fast passes were already for 2pm. We got a fast past and got in the stand by line. 40 min wait. Loved Toy Story Mania, it was better than I expected. We rode: Toy Story Midway Mania (twice), GMR, Rockin' Roller Coaster, ToT, Backlot Tour (where I created a new character of a snotty, oily Disney Executive that would but a spin on things, I was this character for most of the day and was cracking up my friends), Star Tours, Animation Station (drew a 1937 Goofy), Playhouse Disney (for the first time), and Fantasmic.

We had lunch at the ABC Commasary, and Dinner at 50's Prime Time.

It did start to rain some today, but it was off and on. There were alot of concern from guests and from Disney about TS Fay hitting the next day. We even got back to our resort to a message on our phone about the change in park hours (all parks were opening at 8am the next day, with extended hours at AMC Theatres and Disney Quest) and that Disney would monitor the weather and make decisions if needed.

TUES 19th
Woke up to a very cloudy gray morning. We packed our ponchos and we were off to the Magic Kingdom. The bus was nearly empty, and when we got to the park we were shocked to see how dead the place was. The fear of TS Fay must have driven all the people stay in as it was fewer people than we usually see in Feb. Every thing was walk on. We were done with Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland (riding just about everything) and we were done with those lands before lunch. Peter Pan's Flight was still like 40 min, of course that ride is always long. But even Dumbo was walk on.

The rides I experienced for the first time were: Dumbo, Magic Carpets, The Riverboat, and Barn Stormer.

The Kingdom was prepared for a Tropical Storm as all the signs were roped down and tied off so they couldn't swing.

We had lunch at the Columbia Harbor House (my first time). After lunch it finally started to drizzle and mist, and the park began to fill up some more. Finally about 5pm or so it started to finally be poncho weather and just continued to rain more throughout the evening.

We had dinner at the Crystal Palace (my first time) and it was at this time that the winds and the rain really picked up (around 7pm). It was a nice dinner, very LOUD, but nice. I got pictures with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeorye, but was dissed by Piglet. He totally saw us and didn't stop, so I vowed revenge and tired to order pork for the rest of the trip in protest.

To our amazement Wishes did go on. Althought it was changed up some. Tinkerbell didn't fly and the lower flying fireworks like the ones during the genie scene were not shot off either.

So all in all it was still a rather full day at the Magic Kingdom, as we were back at the resort around 11pm.

Rain all day again. This was our Animal Kingdom day. We wanted to make sure we rode every wheel and spoke ride at WDW so we rode Triceratop Spin for the first time.

We had lunch at the Yak and Yeti (counter service area). Not a place to choose when it is raining as there are very few covered areas to sit. We found a seclueded table across from the resturant. It was the "garden area" of Drinkwala near the river. It had a table umbrella so it was nice.

I actually enjoyed Animal Kingdom in the rain, as the colors popped out and the animals loved it, so they were out more. I even noticed more of the details in the walkways because they were wet, than I ever had before.

We had dinner at the Tusker House. I think we were there the same day as Scopa (as his post was up the next day on it). I wish I could give it the rave reviews that he did, but I thought it was just ok. Boma is alot better and more choices. The thing that I found the worst about Tusker House was the amount of plates that just weren't clean, it was alot. I think that put me off a bit. I am not talking about streaks from the dish washer, but food particles still on them. I was completely grossed out when I reached for a bowl and underneath there was still a large amount of food on the bottom. barf....

After Animal Kingdom we came back to change into dry clothes, only to head back out into the rain to shop at DTD and head over to Pleasure Island. We talk about going every trip but never seem to make it there, so we finally did. I got to experience the Comedy Warehouse and the Adventure's Club for the first time.

I really enjoyed them both. I wish we had stayed to see a second showing at the Comedy Warehouse as the one we saw didn't seem to be their best. I used to do Improv so I know how it changes based on the showing.

I really enjoyed the Adventurer's Club. I could see myself hanging out in there and being a regular. I loved the design of the place and the decor. The shows were fun, if not packed.

I was hoping to hear or see from our famous Webmaster, but sadly I think the TS kept him away.

Today was our half day at Epcot, focusing just on Future World. It is a half day as we had the Spirit of Aloha set for that evening. Of course TS Fay was sharing her love with us again today. We did everything in Future World except Turtletalk and the Circle of Life show. We had lunch at the Electric Umbrella.

There was an event during our Standby Queue at Soarin' that was "funny" that I had to share. We kept getting this waft of something foul. For the longest time I was afraid it was from my wet socks. I was terrified that it was because everyone kept thinking it was me. I was so embarrassed, but other kept saying it wasn't me. When we got off the ride I rushed to the restroom to check and see with a "sniff test". It wasn't me. I suspected it was this woman in front of us that probably should have....well.....trying to put this nicely....washed.

We did learn later on in the day that our Spirit of Aloha show was cancelled due to the high winds. This was really disappointing as I was looking forward to it. Plus I already bought a pin to remember the event. (oh well). So instead we went to DTD to do more shopping and had dinner at Earl of Sandwich.

Today was our Epcot Tour day, and still more rain. After some CM confusion about where we were to enter the park, we finally checked in and waited for our guide. She (CM Nicole) was about 15 min late. I thought it was cool that we were given headsets to hear her. On the tour we learned/visited the following:

Rode Spaceship Earth
History of Epcot
Learned about the House of Tomorrow
5 Min Break
VIP Lounge of the Seas
20 min Break at the Land
VIP Back Doored onto Soarin'
3D Glasses Cleaning Dept at the Imagination Pavilion
Learned about the Fountain of Nations
Backstage at the Energy Pavilion to learn about AA's and saw the old hosts
Cast Member Building behind Test Track
VIP Back Doored onto Test Track
Given a Tour Pin

I enjoyed the tour but CM Nicole did seem a bit rushed, and I think we were shorted a bit on our time due to her being late and the fact that the "Illuminations Globe" was in refrib, but then I don't know how much Fay was causing changes to the tour.

After the tour we went to we lunch at the Sunshine Seasons. After lunch we saw the The Circle of Life (that we skipped the day before). By time the show was done it was time to check in for our Behind the Seeds Tour.

Our guide was CM Fred. He seemed a bit nervous and it was like you could see him reading from the script in his head. We visited the greenhouses and got to feed the Hybrid Tilapia. We learned some about the using of "good" bugs to feed on the "bad" ones. We also got to see in depth the various ways to they use to grow the plants.

After the Seeds tour we headed to World Showcase and shopped in Canada (had to get my Maple Tea). We also took a taste test for Twinings (in the UK). They were testing their cold brew tea. We also shopped in Japan. We saw the American Adventure before heading over to France for our dinner ADR. We ate at Chefs de France. The meal was great, a bit slow but the food was delish.

Illuminations went on, but it was pouring during it of course. The Globe was out for rehab. so the show was a bit different and I believe a bit shorter too.

Today was our Kennedy Space Center Day. Of course it was all sunny and hot. Curse you Fay, figured you would stop when we were done with the Parks.

It was neat to see things at the center that I have always read about in History classes and seen on TV. I was bummed by the fact that the Shuttle wasn't on the launch pad yet (because of Fay).

We had lunch at the Center and the prices were more than Disney.

I got to see the mock up of the new space vehicle (after the shuttles are mothballed) and got to see people working on the next piece of the International Space station.

We rode there "thrill" ride that they are comparing to Mission Space. It was rather cheesy. Big deal build up but it was just an ok ride. Not to thrilling. Anyone can ride it (it isn't a spinner, just a shaker).

After KSC we ate at Ohana and then saw "Wishes" from the beach of the Poly. We were over to far to hear the music from the pool area, but it was beautiful to see the fireworks from across the Lagoon, reflected in the water as the waves from the ferry were lapping on the shore. It was nice and relaxing.